Co-op and M&S team up to help launch corporate diversity pledge

The chief executives of c-store specialists the Co-op, M&S and PageGroup founded and were the first signatories of the CEO Activist & Moving the Dial on Diversity Pledge, which will “drive action to better engage and support all under-represented groups within business”.

Co-op group chief executive Steve Murrells and M&S chief executive Steve Rowe have co-signed an open letter with PageGroup boss Steve Ingham outlining how the pledge will be more “action-orientated” and will “multiply its impact beyond their own workplaces”.

A further nine businesses, including retailer Superdrug and FMCG giant Unilever, have also signed up to the pledge. 

The CEO Activist & Moving the Dial on Diversity Pledge has been signed by the three companies in conjunction with Dial Global and focuses on four key areas:

• Ensuring workplaces are inclusive with clear steps to ensure current and future leadership team diversity.
• A commitment to measure progress annually against 10 areas of diversity and inclusion, which were first introduced in 2020 through an inaugural report from the McKenzie-Delis Foundation.
• A promise to implement strategic diversity plans with clear accountability for CEOs and their leadership teams.
• A commitment for each CEO to share their learnings and strategic plans for the future.

The Co-op’s Murrells said: “This is an important step towards creating diverse and inclusive workplaces for all our colleagues where they feel a true sense of belonging.

“Collectively, as CEOs and leadership teams, we know that more must be done and each of us has a responsibility to be role models and agents of change to drive true inclusion throughout our organisations, our products and services and the communities we serve.”

The signing of the pledge comes ahead of the publication of the second part of the McKenzie-Delis Review – a comprehensive review of UK corporate workplace diversity and inclusion – which is due to be published in the spring.